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Peers Discuss Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

A group of 55 people last week participated in the Vocational Rehabilitation Program’s first peer-to-peer event to learn about the opportunities and challenges that people with disabilities face in finding employment.

The job seekers were joined by some of Vocational Rehabilitation’s former clients who are currently employed, including Steve Boykin, an RIC Patient Services Representative who works on the 12th floor.

The former RIC clients served as discussion leaders and spoke about their experiences in the working world. Among the topics they discussed were disability benefits, transportation, accommodations, disclosure of their disabilities to potential employers and time management.

Discussion leaders rotated from table to table every 15 minutes to share information about their assigned topics. Following the discussions, attendees had the opportunity to meet individually with representatives from the CTA, PACE and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) to have their specific questions answered.

The goal of the event was to educate, inform and empower our clients to choose employment over benefits. As one attendee said, “I never thought I could work. Now I get it.”

Weight Watchers at Work Interview with Christina Waters

Weight Watchers at Work, sponsored by the Prince Family Esprit! Program, is starting its 9th session soon. Many employees who have participated in the program have had great success. One of these employees, Christina Waters, an Administrative Coordinator for Flex Staff at RIC, was kind enough to share her journey with us.

What inspired you to join Weight Watchers at Work?

I wanted to become a more active mother so that I can run and be physically active with my kids who are athletic. I was also determined to get healthier and feel better. I wastired of carrying the excess weight.

What were some things about Weight Watchers at Work that you enjoyed and kept you motivated?

I really enjoyed meeting people from different departments and developing relationships with people throughout the organization. As a newbie, it was a great way to meet people and get healthy at the same time. It is a great way to build rapport with people professionally and share a portion of a personal journey with those individuals. Although it is a personal journey, we are all in the journey together.

What were some of the challenges you faced during Weight Watchers at Work? How did you overcome of the challenges?

When I began to lose weight, there were adjustments which were happening to me physically and internally. I didn’t even notice the weight coming off at first. The image I had of myself was still with all the weight I had when I began the program. There were also a few physical adjustments. My body just wasn’t used to it. To get through it, I kept my end goal in mind.

Keeping track of everything I ate had its own challenges, but I kept reminding myself that I track so many other things in life (my bills, checkbook, appointments, etc.), and that it was necessary for me to track my eating and physical activity if I wanted to meet my goal.

Because I am so motivated to be active, I have recently struggled with being tired. I like to run, ride my bike, swim and be active in any way I can, but sometimes I need to slow down. I’ve adjusted by adding more walking instead of running, going to group workout classes and adding yoga into my mix.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Christina Waters

What is your overall impression of the Weight Watchers at Work Program?

It’s amazing. Every workplace should offer this program to its employees. With Weight Watchers easily available to me as an RIC employee, it made so much sense to commit to the program 100%.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting the Weight Watchers at Work program or is considering joining?

For someone who is considering joining, come to a few meetings and check it out. Come with realistic expectations— and don’t be afraid to ask current members and our group leader, Dina, questions.

To those who are just starting, patience is the key, and remaining mindful of what you eat and how active you are day to day. Take yourself seriously once you’re in it. It doesn’t matter if you want to lose 10 lbs or 100 lbs, Weight Watchers at Work will help you to achieve your goals.

Anything else you’d like to share about your experience in the Weight Watchers at Work program?

It’s been fantastic. I’ve met really great RIC team members at our meetings and most importantly it has changed my entire quality of life. It changed how I play with my children, how I feel day in and day out and I proved to myself, no matter the goals I set, academically, professionally, physically, or as a parent, I will achieve each and every one of them. In so many ways, it has been exactly what I needed, and I am a much happier person.

Note: Please read our Reminders section for information on two upcoming Weight Watchers at Work open houses.

Magnuson Awards Nomination Process Now Underway

The Magnuson and Service Award Celebration is only three months away, on September 11, 2015, and the awards nomination process has begun.

Please participate in the Magnuson Awards process by nominating your deserving co-workers for either the RIC Founder’s Award or the RIC Management Award. The purpose of the awards is to recognize both the employee and supervisor/manager/director who strongly contribute to ensuring the highest quality of patient care, and who consistently demonstrate the RIC Values of hope, compassion, discovery, collaboration and commitment to excellence.

These forms are also available on RIC Connect. Managers, please print out paper copies of the forms for employees who do not have access to email.All employees are encouraged to participate in the nomination process.

Nomination forms for the Founder’s and Management Awards are due to Kathy Galvin in Human Resources by Friday, July 31, 2015. Alliance Employee Excellence Award nominations are submitted to the Alliance Executive Director.

You Made My Day!

Congratulations to our most recent Prince Esprit! Program "Thank You" card recipients. These employees were recognized in June by their peers for going “above and beyond” in their work and embodying the RIC Values in all they do.

Kingsley Barimah, Engineer, RIC Plant Operations

David Bennett, Lead Wheelchair Technician

Jessica Braun, Business Support Manager, Interpreter Services

Kristen Buonadonna, Registered Nurse

Autro Cunningham, Operations Manager, Housekeeping

Arielle Goldsmith, Project Coordinator, Research

Ray Green, Supervisor, Offsite Facilities

Eva Hare, Project Coordinator, Flex Staff

Heather Henderson, Patient Services Representative

Anthony Hendricks, Engineer, RIC Plant Operations

Ed Hitchcock, Occupational Therapist

Gerrod Hubbard, Housekeeper

Sara Jerousek, Project Manager, Research

Vince Nastav, Physical Therapist

Rex Pecoraro, Biomedical Equipment Technician

Peter Slawinski, Wheelchair Technician

Stephanie Walker, Occupational Therapist

On every floor and in every department, “Thank You” notes are readily available. Once you have written a “Thank You” card, please make a copy. After you have given your colleague the note, submit the copy to Laura Falgoust in Human Resources.

Why not write a note today about a colleague who went above and beyond? If you have any questions regarding the Esprit! Award Peer Recognition Program, or need any materials, please contact Laura Falgoust at lfalgoust@ric.org or 312-238-6238.

Save the Date for Taste of RIC

It’s that time of year again for the Taste of RIC. We’re looking for staff members who want to show off their talents in singing, dancing, comedy, or cooking, or who would just like to volunteer for the event.

The event will be held on Thursday, August 20, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 345 E. Superior Street in the Heyworth Rooms.

Reminders

Fourth of July Day Employee Holiday on Friday, July 3

Don’t forget that because the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday this year, the official employee holiday will be Friday, July 3.

LEAN Lunch-N-Learn: Problem Solving Tools, Root Cause Analysis

Do you see an opportunity for improvement, but are not sure how to get started? Did a safety event occur, and you want to prevent it from happening again? First step, define the problem. Second step, understand the problem and identify root causes.

As part of the LEAN Lunch-N-Learn series hosted by the Performance Improvement Team, this session will provide tools to identify problems and their root causes from simple to more complex.

This Lunch-N-Learn session will help answer questions such as, “How do I start defining my problem?” and “How do I identify the root causes?” We will learn about the five Whys, Fishbone Diagrams and how they help to break down problems to see and better define areas of focus for improvements.

All RIC staff can benefit from these tools and apply them to their own teams and processes. Please bring your lunch and join us.

Weight Watchers Open Houses Scheduled

The Prince Family Esprit! Program is excited to announce that its 9th session of Weight Watchers at Work is starting soon!

Weight Watchers has been a great success at RIC. Participants collectively have lost more than 3,000 pounds since the introduction of the program in October 2012.

Learn more about how you can participate in Weight Watchers through RIC at the two upcoming open houses:

• Tuesday, July 14, from 11:30 a.m. to noon in Onterie, Room 1001• Tuesday, July 21, from 11:30 a.m. to noon in the Magnuson Auditorium, 16th Floor

There are two ways for RIC employees to participate in Weight Watchers:

• Employees can attend Weight Watchers meetings at the flagship hospital• Employees can attend Weight Watchers meetings at a local community Weight Watchers location.

The cost of the 17-week Weight Watchers at Work Program is $186. RIC will subsidize 50% of the cost up front for in-person meetings, and convenient payroll deductions are available for the remaining amount of $93. Cash, credit card or checks are also acceptable forms of payment for the employee portion of $93 due at the Weight Watchers open houses. Payroll deduction forms will be available at both of the Weight Watchers open houses.

Upon successful completion of the program (80% or more weekly meeting attendance), the employee cost of $93 will be refunded via payroll. Employees who do not attend at least 80% of the weekly meetings will not be eligible for reimbursement of the $93. Reimbursement for attendance at a community site will be done via payroll as well.

If you have any questions about participation in the Weight Watchers at Work program, please contact Laura Falgoust at lfalgoust@ric.org or 312-238-6238.

RIC Sports & Fitness Calendar

For the latest information on sports and fitness events, please click here.

RIC Matters Submission Deadline

The deadline to submit articles and announcements for RIC Matters is Monday at noon if you want them published in the following Wednesday’s newsletter. If you plan to submit photos, please make sure that patients and non-employees sign photo release forms. Please remember if your articles are time sensitive to submit them as early as possible to: RICMatters@ric.org. Thanks!